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UNITED sTATEs PATENT onirica.

THOS. FRANCE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

WOVEN TUCKED FABRIC.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 20,263, dated May 18, 1858.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS FRANCE, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new roven Fabric Suitable for Ladies Skirts, Bustles, and other Articles; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the nature and method of weaving the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention consists in a tucked fabric which owing to its being more especially adapted for ladies bustles, I denominate bustle cloth, produced by weaving in the manner substantially as hereinafter described without any subsequent plaiting or stitching.

To illustrate what is meant by the term tucked fabricIwill referto Figuresl and 2, of the drawing which are sectional views of pieces of cloth. The lines a, a, represent the continuous portion of the cloth and b, o, represent the tucks, which in Fig. l, are shown without fillings and in Fig. 2 with fillings o, c, which are inserted subsequently to the weaving to convert it into a corded fabric. A tucked fabric of this description that is to say a fabric having tucks raised entirely on one side by weaving, is an entirely new manufacture, the only woven fabric bearing any resemblance to it being that represented in Fig. 3 in which pipes el, d, are produced to receive fillings o, c, by weaving the cloth double where the said pipes are required; but these pipes are not on either side but in the center of the cloth or as much on one side as the other, and cannot be considered as tucks. lVhenever it has been desired to form tucks in cloth it has been done by sewing subsequently to weaving.

To enable others skilled in the art of weaving to make my fabric I will proceed to describe t-he manner in which it is woven, first however stating that the sections of the fabric shown in Figs. l and 2 are taken parallel with the warp.

The loom employed, only differs from looms of ordinary description in having two warp or yarn beams each carrying a separate warp. For weaving the fabric plain, four leaves of harness are required two for each warp, but a greater number may be used to give it a fancy character as will be understood by practical weavers. vIn weaving the straight part a, a, of the fabric all four leaves o-f harness are operated and both warps are used, but on arriving at the point where a tuck is to be made the Weaving of one of the warps is stopped by suspending the operation of its two leaves of harness, and the weaving of the other warp, which may be termed the tuck warp, continued for a suilicient distance to-forin vthe tuck, after which this loom is stopped and the beam of the tuck warp is relieved of the friction to which it is subjected during the weaving operation and the lay and reed brought forward to bring the last thread weft that has been woven into the said warp singly up to the last thread that has been woven into the two warps. This having been done a single thread of weft shot through the two warps secures the tuck, and the friction may then be reapplied to the beam of the tuck warp, and both sets of harness put and continued in operation till another is to be commenced when the before mentioned operation for the purpose of weaving the tuck is repeated. In the above manner the operation proceeds the two warps being woven as one till a tuck is desired to be produced, and then the tuck warp only being woven and the last weft thread of the partI so woven being brought up to the last weft thread woven into the two warps and secured as before described by the first shot of thread that is passed through the two warps. It is obvious that by this process of weaving tucks, they may be made as large as may be desired or small enough to receive the finest cord.

My improved fabric may be used for ladies skirts and many other purposes in the condition shown in Fig. l, z'. e. without any filling in the tucks, which may be pressed flat. Then a filling is used it may be of cord, ratan, whalebone or any other material. Vith a stiff filling in the tucks this fabric is superior to any other kind of fabric for the purpose of making skirts and bustles as it will not rip so readily as sewed tucks and ifthe tucks are woven outside it makes a fuller skirt or bustle With the same amount Vof material than the piped fabric shown in Fig. 3. It also possesses the advantage over the fabric'shown in Fig. 3 that it is Woven With both ends of the tuck open to receive the filling, and With a selvage at each open end, but the fabric shown in Fig. 3 has its pipes Woven closed at one end which has to be out open and then leaves a raw edge.

`What I claim as my invention, and desire 10 to secure by Letters Patent, is

The tucked fabric produced entirely by Weaving in the manner substantially as herein set forth.

Y THO. FRANCE. Witnesses:

W. TUsCH, W. HAUFF. 

